Video Recap: European Society of Ophthalmology 2023

From June 15 to 17, the European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE) transformed Prague, Czech Republic, into the "focal point" of the industry. The conference featured a world-class scientific program which included symposia, Young Ophthalmologist sessions, workshops, live surgery, debates, mystery cases and updates on all topics.

Wagih Aclimandos, MBChB, FRCS, President, European Society of Ophthalmology, and consultant ophthalmic surgeon at King's College Hospital, London, spoke to the impressive agenda at the multi-specialty in-person meeting. In a news release, he said that SOE made Prague "the focal point of European ophthalmology," thanks to scientific sessions and three keynote lectures.

With so many informative talks in one exciting weekend, it can ge a challenge to keep up with the full conference schedule. To recap the event, Ophthalmology Times Europe® has created this convenient guide, which includes links to all of our video coverage from SOE 2023.

Thursday

A mixed method study of geographic atrophy

Dr Christiana Dinah brought her presentation, titled "Geographic Atrophy: A Mixed Method Study," to SOE. In converstion with David Hutton, she explained why the study is so timely for ophthalmologists and patients.

"Very recently, in February, we've had the approval by the FDA of pegcetacoplan, or the brand name is SYFOVRE," Dr Dinah explained. "What our group wanted to demonstrate was to understand how acceptable these treatments – not just pegcetacoplan, but any complement inhibitor delivered by intravitual injections – how acceptable are they to our patients." She added that "acceptability has been recommended to be a very key part of understanding whether patients will be adherent to treatment, once It's approved." See the full video here.

Optic Neuropathy Versus Maculopathy

Dr Nicholas Volpe made a presentation titled "Optic Neuropathy Versus Maculopathy," what he called a "very hot topic" for ophthalmologists. "In the modern era, the entities are ...critically important to distinguish because of the kinds of conditions that might work their way into the differential diagnosis," Dr Volpe told David Hutton. He talked about the revolutionary nature of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and the history of assessing retina problems versus optic nerve problems. "I think we we're really armed with great tools as ophthalmologists now to distinguish these patients," Dr Volpe said. You can view his talk here.

Friday

Current treatment options for diabetic macular edema

On Friday, Ala Moshiri, MD, PhD, discussed the various treatment options for patients with diabetic macular edema. In a conversation with Sheryl Stevenson, Dr Moshiri said, "In the anti-VEGF era, we've learned a lot. We have in our hands, in our arsenal or toolbox, however you like to think of it, several different drugs, all of which are effective." In his presentation, Dr Moshiri explored questions such as how frequently ophthalmologists should be treating patients, the duration of treatment, and treatment differences dependent on presenting visual acuity. To see our conversation with Dr Moshiri, click here.

Saturday

What new surgeries will hit the glaucoma market?

On Saturday, SOE featured presenter Panayiota Founti, PhD, FEBO, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon and Training Director, Glaucoma Service Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK. Dr Founti explored the wide range of new surgeries in the glaucoma market. She also touched upon the vital need for innovation and accessibility in this space. "To be able to meet the demands of this expanding base in terms of surgical management, we would need procedures which are relatively quick, largely effective and overall safe," she told Hattie Hayes. "But at the same time, they need to be cost-effective because glaucoma care needs to be delivered within sustainable health care systems. And of course, all of that needs to be backed up by the corresponding evidence." You can hear her remarks from a conversation with Ophthalmology Times Europe® in this video.